


Former Lawyer

by Kaydalen



Series: A lawyer, a mother - A survivor, a lover [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff, Pre-War, light humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:57:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5577484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaydalen/pseuds/Kaydalen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grace stumbles into her old law office by accident and the memories catch up with her. She tries to explain a confused Piper what a lawyer was and how her husband and his missing pants were involved in this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Grace was still busy with knotting her tie when stumbling through the door to her office.  
She couldn't remember the last she time had been that late to work. For dying in the middle of the night and not waking her up in time her phone had to pay with a dip in the sink, joining the dirty dishes from last week she still didn't have a chance to clean yet. Her secretary had reminded her just yesterday, that she shouldn't miss that meeting with this important potential client at nine in the morning and now it was nearly ten.  
She neither had time to shower, nor to eat or to enjoy her morning coffee, which was actually dangerous. It made her grumpy and her mind cloudy. Just like the weather. Rainy. 

Lovely.

She had managed to grab a sandwich on her way, probably offended more than one person with her bad mood, ignored speed limits, complained about the most annoying participants of the morning traffic highly colourful and insulting, may ran over something (hopefully not someone) while maneuvering in a parking spot and her quick breakfast had left horrible stains on her white shirt. 

The lawyer let out a disgusted noise, something between a grunt and a snort and everyone who would care to pay enough attention would be able to see the blood dangerously pulse through the vein on her temple. She just shot her young secretary a quick glance when she rushed past her, shook her head to get the water out of her hair like a wet dog, her thoughts already with her client.

“Mrs. Galloway!”, she tried to hold her up and Grace stopped in the middle of the hallway to at least wish her a good morning, even if hers had been everything but good so far.  
Amanda hustled to get to her muddleheaded boss and snatched a cream white tissue out of the pocket of her jeans to clean up the stain on her button-down shirt. Her boss tilted her head to give her better access. Water dropped from several strands of hair on her shoulders and left small as well as big stains.

“Long night?”, she tried to cheer her up while rubbing on her collar, but the mustard colored mark was annoyingly resistant.  
“Nothing that would have been worth this mess”, Grace sighed and ran with her fingers through her short blonde hair, hoped instantly that she didn't look as bad as she had the feeling she did. She'd give everything for a mirror, but didn't want to know at the same time.  
She commented the clock turning to ten with a quiet groan.

“He's already in your office, I brewed him some coffee”, her secretary changed the subject when she noticed she wasn't up for small talk, “I guess you want some too?”  
“A really strong one, please.”  
Amanda didn't take her eyes off Graces shirt, stuffed the dirty tissue back in her pocket and with a last quick movement she adjusted the tie she had so desperately tried to get right since morning and nearly choked her with it.  
“Coming right up. Good luck.”  
She was the best. She should think about giving her a raise.

Grace cleared her throat and pushed open the door to her office. The sight unfolding before her was nothing what she had expected. She hadn't talked to her potential client just yet, Amanda arranged all the appointments for her, she just had seen the little exclamation mark in her diary next to his name which had made all her alarm bells ring. 

He was sitting in the chair he had pushed as close to her desk as possible. Apparently he had been pretty bored while waiting for her to arrive, since he had seemed to spend all his time with rearranging her belongings. Her pictures, files, papers, pencils and books were used to form an half circle around his empty coffee cup, which he knocked over in surprise when she opened the door. 

“Oh, I'm .. so sorry!”, was the first thing he said to her, suddenly busy keeping an eye on her and at the same time putting the coffee cup and her other stuff back where it belonged – not without knocking the cup over again, “I didn't know when you'd show up.”  
He was dressed in a military uniform yet didn't really act like he was actually part of the military.  
“Yes, I'm .. sorry for the wait.” Grace had a hard time finding the right words while she moved around his chair and her desk, not without shooting a quick glance left and right, just to see if all her books and files in the shelfs along the walls where still where she had left them. 

He used the time to adjust his hair and uniform and to bring some space between chair and desk again. It was hard to say if he had actually tried to mess with her or if he was just being naturally awkward.  
Grace made herself comfortable, cleared her throat again and tried her best to wipe that incredulous expression off her face. She had this strange feeling rushing through this morning the way she did wouldn't exactly pay off.  
She wouldn't even comment on him going through her stuff, she rather thought about it, but wouldn't voice these thoughts. He was still a potential client and being rude wasn't an option, but he sure left a bad first impression. Bad? No, she wouldn't call it bad. But definitely unique.  
For some strange reason her stress level went down. Her shoulders became less tense and she took a deep breath.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Marrow?”  
Graces client had sat down in the chair again, held onto his coffee cup like he had forgotten it was empty, eyed her with curiosity, a slight smile curling his lips.  
“You can call me Nate, if you want.”  
That became even more weird real quick. Grace furrowed her brows. She felt this strange craving to smack the grin of his face with his own (still empty) file.  
“I don't think that's a good idea. Why won't you tell me the reason for your visit instead?” 

In just the right moment the door opened and the smell of fresh brewed coffee found it's way to her nose and that was the only thing she needed to calm down and to collect her senses. Like an answered prayer.  
Amanda quietly put down the cup right in front of her and immediately Graces fingers started trailing up and down the handle. Like a tigress protecting her prey.  
“Thank you.”  
The next second she was out the door again and the lawyer had to put her attention back to the military man in front of her. His curious smile was back and he leaned forward in his chair.  
“It's actually .. uh, it's a little bit embarrassing.”  
“Nothing we're discussing here is leaving this room, I assure you.” She put her cup on her lips and took a sip. It was so hot it nearly burned the flesh off her tongue, but it send a warm shiver down her spine as well and woke and cleared her mind more than anything else. Behind her the rain pattered against the window.

“I was .. robbed.”  
That wasn't that embarrassing yet. But it was probably just the start of it.  
Grace quietly started taking notes. She already had scribbled “Marrow” on top of the paper and underlined it a few times.  
“You have to give me a bit more than that.”  
Nate was nervously shifting in his chair and eyed her coffee like he was ready to snatch it out of her hands. Instinctively she pulled the cup closer to her.  
Oh no, sir.

“Yeah, well, In short: I was out with a lady and we rented a hotel room and spend the night there.”  
This was getting rather interesting. Now it was on Grace to curl her lips into a grin, but she tried to hide it as good as possible with setting the coffee cup back on her lips and taking another sip.  
His smile slowly vanished and he was getting more uncomfortable. It was weird seeing a man in a military uniform cringe like that. Was he wearing it because he wanted to appear as 'important' as he obviously claimed on the phone?  
This guy was weird. But interesting in his own way.

“Apparently she drugged me .. somehow.” He started rambling a little while trying to find the right words. “And the next morning .. well, everything was kind of gone. My money was gone. And my phone. And my car keys. My car. I came here on foot.”  
A moment of silence.

“And my pants.”

Grace choked on her coffee, nearly spit it back into the cup and barely managed to avoid it from dripping down her chin. She started coughing and grabbed a tissue to wipe it off.  
It was the best disguise to hide her laugh too.  
“Haha, yes, very funny.” Nate made a face, but didn't seemed too offended. “I knew a One Night stand could go horribly wrong, but well, do you know this feeling when you just don't care anymore?”  
Suddenly his voice had found a different tone.  
In a way, but she wouldn't admit it. He wasn't her friend, he was her client. There was no need to share too much personal feelings.  
“I was at this point. And that's what I got.”

The puzzle pieces in her head started to fit together, slowly and she actually felt a bit bad for prejudging him like that. She was getting a little too cocky there. Just because he wasn't a rich businessman didn't mean him losing his money and phone and his car wasn't making him and him as a client less 'important'.  
And his pants.  
That could explain seeing him in his uniform. Maybe that had been the only pair of pants he had owned. You could never know.  
This was just as sad as it was hilarious.

Grace pulled her business face. She had to appear professional at least.  
“So I guess the police is already investigating?”, she wanted to know and took some more notes. 'One Night stand, Lost money, phone and pants (doubled underlined). Police Investigation progress?'.  
“Yes, but they told me I'd need a lawyer when they find her, so I came here as soon as possible to get that off the table”, Nate answered, tried to sip from his empty coffee cup before he remembered the same fact and put it finally back on the table.

“True. Don't worry, I'll help you get your things back, that's what I do”, Grace promised, opened up a drawer and poked through the papers for her dictating machine to record the personal details, “Or at least try to get you the money to replace it. I mean, the pants too?”  
For some reason she suddenly started rambling just like him earlier. She as a lawyer should be good with words. She dropped her dictating machine when she found it and cursed quietly while picking it from the floor.  
When she came back up Nate was on his feet, an awkward smile on his lips, his hand reached out.

“The pants too, if possible, yes”, he laughed and there was this spark in his eyes which cheered her up, made her day a little bit brighter and caused a blush to creep up her cheeks.  
“I guess we have a deal then.”  
She shook his hand and it was the first time she felt his skin on hers. 

For a moment the scene froze, in her mind, in time. In the next it disappeared, faded away and melted and Grace was staring at a rotting desk that was barely still standing, weirdly mesmerized by random black stains on the wood. The papers burned, the pens gone, the dictation machine scrapped for parts, her secretarys chair empty. Dim sunlight shone through the broken windows.  
Slowly she ran with her fingers over the surface as she stood on the same spot she did 200 years ago, could still smell the fresh brewed coffee, could feel how the water dripped on her shoulders, could see Nates  
awkward smile.

“Blue? Hello? Earth to Blue!”

She didn't even notice Piper calling her at first, her touch snapped her out of it and brought her back into reality.  
She was right by her side, gently nudging her shoulder, her expression worried.  
“You alright, doll? You're acting strange.”  
Without answering Grace reached out and took Pipers hand, laced their fingers together. It felt right and strange at the same time. Back then it was Nate who had stumbled in her office because some woman stole his pants. Now she was here with Piper by accident as they tried to get away from a Deathclaw. They used this abandoned office as a hiding spot and the war had put it into such a bad shape the former lawyer didn't even recognize it.  
How should she call it? Destiny? Or just a funny or maybe not so funny coincidence?

Unexpectedly some of her old filing cabinets seemed to have survived the nuclear fallout. Maybe now she could properly explain to Piper who she was and what she did. Show her another part of her world so many people in the Commonwealth were so curious about. It still took some time to get used to.

“Let me show you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was more about the flashback (I had this scene stuck in my head like forever), in the next one will be the F!SoSu/Piper content then


	2. Chapter 2

“Wait, I want to make sure I got that right.”

Piper sounded suspicious and confused at the same time. Together they were digging through the rubble, pushed broken down parts of the ceiling aside to clear a path to the rusted filing cabinets. Some of the drawers were open, revealed the now yellow papers on the inside. 

“You're job was to find other peoples .. clothes?”  
Grace let out an amused snort and brushed the dirt off her trousers. It sure was hard for the reporter to understand. There weren't people who practiced this job anymore since there was no law. Everyone killed and raped and robbed as they pleased. Get caught by the right people and your punishment is a bullet in your head. The concept of a prison had to be pretty strange for everyone as well. The residents of the Commonwealth were more than glad to have a roof over their heads, they'd probably welcome something like a prison and the crime rate would go up and not down.

“Not quite”, Grace tried to explain, “I helped with .. a lot of things. Divorces, Fraud, things like that.”  
“So you .. punished them?” The reporter raised her brows and seemed to be even more confused than before.  
“No, that's what the court did. I defended them.”  
“So you took care of the people who did them wrong?”  
This conversation was somewhat frustrating, but it wasn't Pipers fault. So the Vault Dweller did her hardest to explain it to her as best as possible.  
“Ha, no, but sometimes I wish I could have”, she answered, “When I find one of my old files, I can show you.”

It took them some more digging until one of the dozen filing cabinets was free from rubble and as soon as the former lawyer touched the cold metal the memories washed over her again, made her shiver. Nate's numerous visits in her office, how he waited for her in the pouring rain, asked her out. She tried to push them far in the back of her head again where they belonged. There was no point in dwelling on the past.  
When Piper gently nudged her shoulder, she snapped back to reality and gave her a sad smile.  
“Are you sure you're OK?”  
Always worried.  
“I'm fine.” Grace nearly choked on her own words. “It's just .. here's where I met him the first time, you know. Brings back memories.”  
Actually she didn't want to talk about it. She thought speaking out loud what was going on in her head was going to make it even worse. It pained her, but the hand on her back prevented her from losing herself in those memories. 

“Oh, Blue ..”, Piper sighed and pulled her into a brief but warm hug, “You miss him, right?”  
Grace breathed out, slowly, thanked the reporter quietly for just lending her her warmth.  
“I do”, she whispered, “A lot. We were married .. We have a son, I ..”  
She shook her head like a wet dog, like she could get the pictures out of her mind that way.  
“But I wanted to show you what I did before the war, not cry about things that are long gone.”

The Vault Dweller cleared her throat and pulled one of the drawers open. The files were wet, the past had painted them in green and yellow and most of it had become unrecognizable. Papers were glued together, prevented her from browsing through them. Letters blurred and shaped like water pouring down a window.  
“That's were I kept track on how the case was going”, Grace explained, while she was digging through her old work to find something not completely ruined, “Personal information, letters from clients and other lawyers. Both tried to declare that their own client was right or innocent, but just one could win.”

And so the former lawyer started talking about her job. About the courts, the countless evenings spend in her office while the world outside went dark as tar, just to make sure her client got the justice he deserved. She talked about how thankful people were when she won a case for them and the tears when she lost. How guilty she felt when the judge didn't speak a sentence in her favor, how hard it was to dictate a bill or type it herself to a client whose case she had lost.  
But it was part of her job, somewhat a part of herself and she had loved it. That's why she chose it.  
Piper was listening carefully and full of curiosity. She gasped and laughed and sighed at the right moments, was overall a pretty good listener. There were still a lot of things she didn't, couldn't, understand but Grace was glad that she was able to give her just a small impression of how things had been. 

“Hey, you had a 'Wright' as a client?”  
The reporter was the first to find a recognizable file. The nameplate on it had caught her attention and it took both of them to peel it from the others. Grace didn't even remember that client at first, but if she had a file of him it had to be true.  
“Let me see.”  
The former lawyer opened it up and both of them leaned over it to see what was inside. Her eyes danced over the letters and slowly it came back to her. She burst out laughing and Piper curiously nudged her shoulder, tried to get her talking.

“Richard Wright, yes, I remember him”, Grace giggled and it was such a rare noise to draw from here that the reporter didn't know how to respond.  
“He was an old army veteran and he was in my office more often than my secretary.”  
That was an overstatement, but it surely had felt like it.  
“He complained about and sued everyone and everything. I don't even know how much money he had spend on trying to get the neighbours kids from playing soccer in their front yard.”  
“Why would he want to do that?”  
“Because 'I'm old and I want law and order and peace!'”  
Pipers eyes widened on the sudden impression of a bitter old man, just before she started laughing.  
“You can't be serious!”  
“It's true!”, she chuckled, “At first it was just noise that bothered him. Then his neighbours got annoyed and somewhat offended by him always suing everyone who just breathed the wrong amount of air around him. So .. they were a bit rude, called him names and that made it even worse. At one point I didn't even bother answering his calls anymore.”

She didn't just have that one file involving him, there had to be several somewhere, but most of them probably fell victim to the apocalypse.  
“That's .. unbelievable”, Piper shook her head, “And you had to deal with these people?”  
“I didn't had to, but that's just what I did for living, I needed the money”, Grace explained and shut the file, “But at one point it just became ridiculous and I stopped defending him. Here.”  
The former lawyer handed Piper the file. “Take it. A memory of your grumpy ancestor.”  
The reporter gasped in protest and attempted to smack the Vault Dweller with the file, but she snatched her wrist in time and pulled her closer.  
She blushed and lost her words before they could reach her tongue, so indefinable noises escaped her lips.  
Grace loved her bright eyes, the freckles covering her red cheeks. 

“I'm just joking, you could never be related to someone like that”, she whispered, brought their faces closer and caught her lips in a kiss. A warm feeling started growing in her stomach and spread through her whole body, she shivered when one of Pipers arms was brought around her waist and took a grip on her jumpsuit, like she could disappear every second.  
She felt her kissing her back and mewled in her mouth. As much as she missed her husband, Piper was something else. Even if she had the chance she wouldn't trade her for him.  
Piper pulled away slowly, a smirk on her lips.

“So now let's see if you're really as good as you're claiming you are”, she grinned, stepped away and instantly Grace missed the warmth of her body.  
“Pardon?”  
“I want to sue .. Hancock” She tipped her hat absentmindedly while walking circles in her old office, stepping over rubble and wood of the broken down ceiling. She was visibly enjoying herself.  
“For what, Mrs. Wright?”  
Grace played along and followed her. Hands behind her back, a smirk on her lips.

“For .. calling me a dickhead.”  
“He called you a dickhead?”, the Vault Dweller snorted amused and watched her sitting down on her desk.  
“Psst, play along.”  
Piper cleared her throat.  
“I want to sue him for calling me a dickhead. And I want him to pay me .. let's say, 500 caps. And a Nuka Cola.”  
“500 caps are quiet a lot, Mrs. Wright.”  
“He's a mayor, he can handle it.”

The reporter caught her with her legs as the former lawyer stepped closer, but turned her head as she tried to lean in again for a kiss.  
“I can do that, but ..”  
Grace wrapped her arms around her waist and made it for Piper nearly impossible to think. Again a blush crept up her neck.  
“.. that's pretty expensive, you know.”  
“How much does it cost me?”  
“1000 caps.”  
“Damn, Blue, you're a cutthroat.”  
“But I'm sure we can find another way for you to pay me”, the former lawyer purred and pushed the reporter down on her desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this one, so I might do more of that ..   
> If you want to send me prompts visit my Tumblr: http://pipervvrightt.tumblr.com/


End file.
